Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 5 July 2024.

Canadian Ambassador delivers a joint statement on behalf of the UK and other OSCE participating States to mark World Refugee Day.

Thank you very much Madam Chair,

I am delivering this statement on behalf of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the United Kingdom and Canada.

In marking World Refugee Day, we show solidarity with millions of refugees, and we recommit to the task of responding to their humanitarian needs and finding durable solutions to their situations. Compared to a decade ago, the total number of refugees globally has more than tripled – with a 7% increase in 2023 alone. Persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and natural disasters have led to the forcible displacement of more than 117 million people worldwide.

The Russia Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues to be the catalyst for massive displacement in the OSCE region and the largest cross-border movement of people in Europe since the Second World War. The UNHCR is currently reporting that almost 6.5 million refugees have been forced to flee Ukraine and an additional 3.5 million individuals have been internally displaced. Large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation across Ukraine, the targeting of energy infrastructure, and a ground offensive in Kharkiv region, all continue to drive a need for life-saving humanitarian assistance to people living close to the frontline. As winter approaches, the UNHCR predicts further displacement and humanitarian need.

The UNHCR also noted the impact of war, destruction and displacement on Ukrainian children and their access to education. They report that, in the current academic year, nearly one million children – a quarter of all Ukrainian children enrolled in school – have been unable to attend in-person learning, and that frequent air raid alarms and power outages have disrupted their education, leading to learning losses and long-term implications for their development.

We are also concerned regarding the displacement by conflict of more than 115,000 ethnic Armenians in late 2023 into Armenia, and the acute humanitarian challenges that they have faced as a result.

Those driven from their homes within the OSCE region add to those already fleeing conflict and persecution from other regions of the world to seek refuge in this region. In the face of this challenge, we commend host countries for opening their borders, for showing empathy and care, and for their efforts to grant refugees the opportunity to study, work, and live decent lives in safety. In this regard, we note the efforts of Poland, Czechia and Moldova in welcoming Ukrainian refugees, as well as the work done by Türkiye, which is among the top refugee-hosting countries globally, hosting 3.4 million refugees and asylum seekers.

We emphasize the importance of inclusion and diversity, and of the positive impact that newcomers can have on our societies and economies. In addressing forcible displacement, we must strive to reach those in need, including women and girls, and to address parallel risks and challenges such as trafficking, discrimination and intolerance.

As participating States of the OSCE we must recall that it is incumbent upon all of us to provide international protection and assistance to refugees, and to find durable and dignified solutions for them and for other forcibly displaced persons.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 July 2024.#

The UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN in Geneva, Simon Manley, gave a statement during Mozambique’s WTO Trade Policy Review.

Chair, let me offer a warm welcome to the delegation from Mozambique led by Mr. Silvino Augusto José Moreno, Minister of Industry and Commerce. Let me also express my gratitude to colleagues from the WTO Secretariat for their respective reports, to the Chair, as ever, and to our Discussant, Mr. Li Chenggang, for his insightful comments.

Economic Analysis

1. I’d particularly like to thank the delegation and the secretariat for all of the hard work which goes into a Trade Policy Review. The secretariat and government reports offer invaluable insight into Mozambique’s trade policies and wider economy.
2. Mozambique has faced various shocks since the last TPR in 2017: climate, COVID-19, ongoing conflict. In order to accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty, Mozambique is progressing with some key economic reforms including as part of the IMF programme initiated in 2022. We were also pleased to read that the government is taking steps to address the recent public sector wage bill overrun discussed in the reports.
3. I am pleased to say that our development assistance has been supporting Mozambique’s emergency and humanitarian response, basic service delivery, and economic reforms to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation, debt and State Owned Enterprises transparency. These economic reforms were crucial for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) decisions to resume programmatic support in 2022 and 2023.
4. The UK deeply appreciates the insights afforded to us by Mozambique’s engagement with this important transparency exercise, including their answers to our Advanced Written Questions.
5. They allow us to better understand Mozambique’s trade policies, which in turn, allow us to understand how we can work together to further improve our trading relationship, which has seen rapid growth in the last two years. In 2023, UK exports to Mozambique grew by over 100%, whilst our imports from Mozambique increased in value by 175%.

Southern African Customs Union Member States (SACUM) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)

1. Close cooperation between our two countries, and regional partners, has enabled this rapid growth. We are grateful to Mozambique for its constructive work implementing the SACU-Mozambique-UK Economic Partnership Agreement, which came into force in 2021 and underpins our trading relationship with Mozambique, as well as Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.
2. The UK is fully committed to the EPA, principally as a means of increasing trade and investment to promote sustainable growth and poverty reduction in southern Africa. We look forward to holding the first EPA Joint Council and working with Mozambique and SACU partners to continue implementation and look towards deepening the Agreement and enhancing the benefits for businesses and consumers in the UK and Southern Africa.
3. Last month we celebrated the first anniversary of the UK’s Developing Country Trading Scheme. DCTS has now been in force for one year, providing improved market access to 65 developing countries – home to 3.3 billion people – including Mozambique. Free and open trade is a crucial tool in helping Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to drive economic growth and support sustainable development, and the DCTS helps Mozambique to export to the UK and play a more active part in fast growing global supply chains.

WTO

1. Chair, given the benefits trade can bring to LDCs, the UK was pleased to see that the reports reference Mozambique’s commitment to uphold the principles of a rules-based, predictable and transparent trading system; and equally, to hear Minister Moreno’s reference this morning to Mozambique’s objective to create a stable and sustainable environment for trade. Mozambique’s commitment is evidenced by the significant role global trade plays in the Mozambique economy, with aggregate two-way trade flows ranging from 92.8% and 137.7% of GDP between 2017-23.
2. Mozambique’s constructive work within the WTO itself is also praiseworthy. In particular, the UK welcomes the role which Mozambique plays on Trade Facilitation; Mozambique is a focal point within these important discussions. We look forward to continuing to work together with Mozambique within the Committee on Trade Facilitation, ensuring that the WTO continues to work for LDCs and Developing Countries. We were also pleased to see Mozambique enhancing its participation at the WTO through the Informal Working Group on Micro Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), and the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution.
3. The UK is also keen to hear more about Mozambique’s efforts in promoting inclusive economic development in the future. As one of the co-chairs of the WTO Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender, I would welcome hearing more about Mozambique’s initiatives, in the spirit of sharing best practice and learning in this group.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

1. Chair, we would like to take this opportunity to commend Mozambique for its Accession to another multilateral body: the African Continental Free Trade Area. The UK is a firm supporter of the AfCFTA, which has the potential to be a game-changer for intra-regional trade across the continent and thereby inclusive economic growth and development.
2. The UK was proud to be the first non-African country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the AfCFTA Secretariat, and through our development assistance, we are working closely to support the AfCFTA Secretariat and Member States to get the agreement up and running.
3. Finally Chair, let me thank Mozambique for their full cooperation with this important exercise in transparency. I would particularly like to thank the delegation for their hard work answering the UK’s questions, hard work which I hope didn’t distract them from celebrating the Dia da Independência last week.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 July 2024.

ID with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Venezuela. Delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley.

Thank you, Ms Vice-President.

We are less than a month before elections in Venezuela, and we are really worried by what we are seeing in terms of political repression, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances.

We condemn the ongoing harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders, journalists, and the political opposition. And we are concerned at the threat to remaining civic space through the proposed NGO law. As Venezuela approaches these elections, we think it is really imperative to ensure that all candidates, the political opposition, and civil society can all operate without fear of reprisal.

High Commissioner,

We continue to call for the unconditional return of your Office to Venezuela. We reaffirm our commitment to its mandate and that of the Fact-Finding Mission and call for their renewal in September at this Council. Their work is essential to ending human rights violations, particularly for vulnerable populations.

High Commissioner,

It has been three years now since the arbitrary detention of human rights defender Javier Tarazona, whilst Rocío San Miguel and many others also remain detained. What prospects do you see for an improvement to the current situation?

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 3 July 2024.

UK statement for Interactive Dialogue on the oral update of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. Delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley.

Thank you, Mr President.

Commissioners, thank you for your comprehensive assessment of human rights violations in Syria. In the fourteenth year of the conflict, human rights violations remain systematic and widespread.

The Syrian people continue to live in uncertainty and insecurity, without the protection of the rule of law. Access for humanitarian aid is precarious and civilians are all too often the innocent victims of violence and attacks by the Assad regime and its Russian allies and armed groups.

Mr President,

Syrian refugees have the right to return to Syria in a manner that is safe, voluntary and dignified. However, for those returning to Syria, an uncertain fate awaits. We are alarmed by reports of gross human rights violations and abuses suffered by returnees at the hands of the Syrian authorities and armed groups, including reports of returnees being arrested and arbitrarily detained. While the Syrian authorities continue to show such scant regard for human life and international law, it is simply not viable for people to return.

Commissioners, how can the international community support you in seeking accountability for those who have violated and abused the rights of detainees, including through arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and torture?